I highly doubt people would leave a game over a thread like that. People who play those games, and if they are active, are quick to point out those threads are wrong.

…. Is the concept dead?

They games are dead and mostly unpopulated, regardless of what statistical population says its flawed and most likely 1000s of accounts are just idle at the start menu ran by the game developer to create a image of activity.

With some real studios completely shutting down steam games simply due to lack of population where they realize maintaining the server costs them more then they make with a few 100 steam users who buy nothing.

I mean let's face it marvel pulled it's recent game off steam, no matter how bad it was there was just no population and the complete lack of success is far more apparent on smaller studios.

Though I do get a chuckle outta the banana. Game that pushed the idle server user login to full effect to even make steam look stupid

The same as always, if game devs aren't bothered to moderate those posts, that's their choice and fine.

As useful as complaining about said posts.

This feels like going into restaurants, and directly ask "is the food taste good here?" vibe.

Folks eating there can care less about the guy asked that, even if they stayed and eat or left for another restaurant.

Originally posted by Majestically Awkward:

They games are dead and mostly unpopulated, regardless of what statistical population says its flawed and most likely 1000s of accounts are just idle at the start menu ran by the game developer to create a image of activity.

That's incorrect.

Originally posted by Majestically Awkward:

They games are dead and mostly unpopulated, regardless of what statistical population says its flawed and most likely 1000s of accounts are just idle at the start menu ran by the game developer to create a image of activity.

With some real studios completely shutting down steam games simply due to lack of population where they realize maintaining the server costs them more then they make with a few 100 steam users who buy nothing.

I mean let's face it marvel pulled it's recent game off steam, no matter how bad it was there was just no population and the complete lack of success is far more apparent on smaller studios.

Though I do get a chuckle outta the banana. Game that pushed the idle server user login to full effect to even make steam look stupid

It's not necessary this the case, I would bring just as example Counter-Strike (the 1.6 version), it has a player-base connected during the day that go from about 5.000 to about 15.000 and is a game made by a developer, Valve, that surely doesn't have the interest in bring an altered perception of the population of a game of more than 20 years ago, and in its forum there are still users saying or asking if the game is dead.

Instead, could happen, if one want to think bad, that a developer that want to promote a successor of its multiplayer game, would tempest the forum with fake accounts insinuating the death of the game, to convice a bit of the playerbase of old game to buy the new game.

I say these things for say, maybe in some contexts you are right, but there are others where the idea of this topic would be useful, at least for the players, both who already own it and who don't own it and want to buy that old or not game.

If someone asks that, you may just as well ask them where they are from, and then see if you can answer their question by looking at the available games in that region.

Originally posted by ITA YouF:

Years go, but threads of this type infest many game forums and can cause players leaving games that are still well played for threads that can cause untrust about game playerbase.

It would be better, at least for multiplayer-only games, if in game's shop page or in game's forum, is fixed a SteamDB or similar site's link to let easier check playerbase of that game, punishing the users insisting on infest the forum with unnecessary thread.

It will also don't let point farmers doing posts of this type on certain games that are instead well populated, as already happened in a Pokemon-style game which I don't remember the game.

*Visits game forum*
"Hm new update to game, added features, etc"

*sees another topic asking if the game is dead*

"Oh we can't have this! This game HAS to be dead, no further research needed at all"

Originally posted by ITA YouF:

It would be better, at least for multiplayer-only games, if in game's shop page or in game's forum, is fixed a SteamDB or similar site's link to let easier check playerbase of that game, punishing the users insisting on infest the forum with unnecessary thread.

That's a dangerous thing to do, as people don't genmerally know how to read those numbers.
It can lead to a downward spiral where people come to the store page, see a number they don't think it's 'high enough' and don't get the game.

Game gets a low player count because no new people join in and no new people join in because the game has a low player count.

And no number is going to convince defeatists that 'their game is dying' anyway.

Originally posted by The Commendatore:

Originally posted by Majestically Awkward:

They games are dead and mostly unpopulated, regardless of what statistical population says its flawed and most likely 1000s of accounts are just idle at the start menu ran by the game developer to create a image of activity.

That's incorrect.

That's like his whole thing.

Originally posted by ITA YouF:

-snip-

Word of advice. You're talking to a wall there. May want to check who you're dealing with there.

Originally posted by ITA YouF:

It's not necessary this the case, I would bring just as example Counter-Strike (the 1.6 version), it has a player-base connected during the day that go from about 5.000 to about 15.000 and is a game made by a developer, Valve, that surely doesn't have the interest in bring an altered perception of the population of a game of more than 20 years ago, and in its forum there are still users saying or asking if the game is dead.

Instead, could happen, if one want to think bad, that a developer that want to promote a successor of its multiplayer game, would tempest the forum with fake accounts insinuating the death of the game, to convice a bit of the playerbase of old game to buy the new game.

I say these things for say, maybe in some contexts you are right, but there are others where the idea of this topic would be useful, at least for the players, both who already own it and who don't own it and want to buy that old or not game.

CS 1.6 Was great however the reality is more likely the servers are just running empty bot rounds over and over again due to people who created severs, custom servers exact. At 20 people. Literally if you took the time to install csm1.6 and did a server list you will see 1000s of empty servers with the exception of unlisted private servers. However and that is the major issue is just about every game has on its top 100 suggests 5000 - 15000 users, I remember several years ago telling steam it looked fake when they cap the top 50-100 at 5000 users on each game.

It's just nonsense with this company it has no real statistical information it's just all marketing deception. If steam really has these games full of players they wouldn't be empty when you buy one and go-to play it.

Originally posted by Crazy Tiger:

The same as always, if game devs aren't bothered to moderate those posts, that's their choice and fine.

Silencing people for petty reasons just creates more anger and as a result more posts. As a game dev, if someone says something stupid that doesn't break the rules and doesn't hurt anyone, I just let them say it.

Originally posted by Tito Shivan:

Originally posted by ITA YouF:

It would be better, at least for multiplayer-only games, if in game's shop page or in game's forum, is fixed a SteamDB or similar site's link to let easier check playerbase of that game, punishing the users insisting on infest the forum with unnecessary thread.

That's a dangerous thing to do, as people don't genmerally know how to read those numbers.
It can lead to a downward spiral where people come to the store page, see a number they don't think it's 'high enough' and don't get the game.

You can see this in a lot of gaming sections where people will be posting the numbers when the game is the lowest during the early morning or middle of the night. Then use that as an argument for the game is dying.

They ignore the 24 hour peak too.

Way too common.

Originally posted by Ben Lubar:

Originally posted by Crazy Tiger:

The same as always, if game devs aren't bothered to moderate those posts, that's their choice and fine.

Silencing people for petty reasons just creates more anger and as a result more posts. As a game dev, if someone says something stupid that doesn't break the rules and doesn't hurt anyone, I just let them say it.

That's fine. If others do it differently, that's fine as well. Their choice, their consequences. Which is fine.